Anybody here from Austin?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Good luck, Steven.

I was in Austin for a few short weeks on a project, many years ago. It was summer and uncomfortably hot. But it's a nice town, very happening, lotsa young people. But not somewhere I'd want to live because it struck me as too small with somewhat of a narrow employer base.

[cbd2cai 0]

I live in Dallas and tried Austin for a couple of years before I moved back. I have allergies and the humidity drove me absolutely crazy . . . I won't live any further south in Texas if I can manage it. I liked Houston except for the same reasons. The closer you get to the Gulf Coast the higher the humidity . . . Austin might be called the "Hill Country", but it is all the extra water that is the problem. Oh, they do have more flooding too!!

There are always trade-offs where ever you want to go. I love green stuff and gardening, but I think the desert with all its cacti is better for me! I am thinking New Mexico . . . now if I could just find a job, hehe!!

Also, liberal and progressive Austin is the seat of the state government, so you have to put up with a bunch of that political C*** . . . like the stupid governor that is there right now (the one that wants to give all the schoolgirls shots for cancer!!). I liked it better when the place was overrun by hippies.

[eap620 0]

Looks like people have given you a pretty good view of Austin but I thought I would add that I was born and raised here as well. I love it very much here and after travelling many places in the states and around the world...I always love Austin.

Let me know if you have any specific questions. I'd love to help.

[Otto 83]

[Nikita2Charles 32]

in case you wanna get freaky in Austin you can check this place called the yellowrose

[homesick_american 1]

My friend just moved back from there. She said it was great but "still in Texas." I guess it's not completely unTexasified.

Just what is wrong with that?

[homesick_american 1]

How is the housing market?

Most expensive in Texas, but still cheaper than Fornicalia.

How culturally diverse is it?

Not very. It's mostly white, hispanic, and black...like every other large city.

What's the weather like?

Hot, hot, hot.

How about the schools?

Average to above average by Texas standards, with a few very good ones and a few extremely poor ones...just like any other major city.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

My Fiance lives in Austin

He really loves it there. I really liked it too when I went there on vacations.

People are friendly and courteous, lots of fun places to hang out (like 6th street), and the food is great

I'm really looking forward to living there

Edited May 23, 2007 by JVKn'CVO

[homesick_american 1]

It's got its own character, different than any other Texas city -- very liberal, very progressive.

Hmmm....yes and no.

Travis County did go red in 2000. It went blue in 2004, but not by much. Every county surrounding Travis County was red in 2000 and 2004.

http://www.republicanvoices.org/2000_maps.jpg

[john_and_marlene 162]

I lived in Austin for 5 years and graduated from UT-Austin

It was too hot.

It had too many fire ants.

I moved to Omaha Nebraska. I stayed there for 6 years.

It was too cold

I moved to Oklahoma City

It is halfway between Austin and Omaha

There aren't many days of winter weather.

The temperatures are not as hot as Austin.

The cost of living is very low.

[homesick_american 1]

Good luck, Steven.

I was in Austin for a few short weeks on a project, many years ago. It was summer and uncomfortably hot. But it's a nice town, very happening, lotsa young people. But not somewhere I'd want to live because it struck me as too small with somewhat of a narrow employer base.

Austin is a good size, but it has definitely outgrown its highway system and it's difficult to build more due to geographical and political constraints. Commuting in Austin can be a thick slice of pure unadulterated hell...I found it much tougher than commuting twice the distance in Dallas. Try getting west to east sometime and you'll see what I mean. The east-west highways are at the north end and the south end of town. If you need to get east-west anywhere else, you're stuck on crowded surface roads.

You are spot-on about Austin's economy and employer base...Austin has put a lot of its eggs in the high-tech basket and it is very focused on hardware, not software...so if you're into software, Dallas is a better bet than Austin. If you're a hardware engineer, semiconductor engineer, electrical engineer, etc. you could do really well in Austin. If you're a code monkey, you may find it a bit tough. Austin's economy is not very diversified at all, and that was one of the top reasons we decided against relocating there and chose Dallas instead. There were others, but the other Austinites here seem to find them upsetting; they've gotten it into their head that I hate Austin, which I don't. I like it a lot. It's just not the right place for us right now, maybe it never will be again.

I liked it better when the place was overrun by hippies.

Me too.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

What's the weather like?

Hot, hot, hot.

Unless you are from southamerica and go there in the winter, right in the middle of an ice storm

then you sleep with 3 blankets and a polar sweater

[homesick_american 1]

What's the weather like?

Hot, hot, hot.

Unless you are from southamerica and go there in the winter, right in the middle of an ice storm

then you sleep with 3 blankets and a polar sweater

Sure, every few years or so there's an ice storm...but the summers are absolute hell. I loathe summer in Texas; it's one of the things I'm NOT looking forward to, and if we complete in the next few weeks or so we'll arrive at the hottest point of the year. Yippee.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

What's the weather like?

Hot, hot, hot.

Unless you are from southamerica and go there in the winter, right in the middle of an ice storm

then you sleep with 3 blankets and a polar sweater

Sure, every few years or so there's an ice storm...but the summers are absolute hell. I loathe summer in Texas; it's one of the things I'm NOT looking forward to, and if we complete in the next few weeks or so we'll arrive at the hottest point of the year. Yippee.

not to mention, as john stated earlier, the fire ants - which are taking over the state

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Austin is a good size, but it has definitely outgrown its highway system and it's difficult to build more due to geographical and political constraints. Commuting in Austin can be a thick slice of pure unadulterated hell...I found it much tougher than commuting twice the distance in Dallas. Try getting west to east sometime and you'll see what I mean.

You know, I have heard that complaint from everyone I know who has moved away from Jersey down south. It seems like you can escape high taxes but you can never escape lots and lots of traffic. There are two, separate, both un-funded, plans to bring train service within half a mile of my Jersey townhouse. If either materializes, I may never leave.